Finland

'There is a future': How Finland’s 850 Jews survive and thrive in the Diaspora

DIASPORA AFFAIRS: Despite their small numbers, Finland's Jewish community has managed to thrive even as anti-Zionism rises.

|ByMATHILDA HELLER
CHAYA VOTKIN (left), president of the Jewish Community of Helsinki, poses at the Yael Foundation conference earlier this month.
BONES FOUND with a missing Finnish tourist's passport next to them.

Human remains found by children in Jerusalem woods may solve year-long mystery of missing tourist

Children walking in the woods outside of Pisgat Ze'ev on Friday before Shabbat found the bones and showed them to one of their fathers, who called the police.

|ByTZVI JASPER
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar hosting his Finnish counterpart, Elina Valtonen, at the Foreign Ministry, Jerusalem, February 15, 2026.

Finnish FM visits Jerusalem for first time since 2016, discusses regional issues with FM Sa'ar

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar hosted Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen in Jerusalem, marking the first such visit in nearly a decade amid EU discussions on Israel.

|ByANNA BARSKY
PASSENGERS OF the icebreaker ‘Polar Explorer’ walk across the frozen surface of the Bothnian Sea.

Frozen silence, dancing lights, and a spiritual journey to Lapland

In Lapland, the Arctic silence, the endless snow, and the dancing lights remind you that the world is vast, and our moments of awe are what make it infinite.

|ByJACOB MAOR

Justin Bieber appears to perform Nazi salute in viral video

In a video that has since gone viral, pop singer Justin Bieber appears to perform the Nazi salute and march onstage in a show in Finland.

AUGUST 11, 2022ByZVIKA KLEIN
Pop singer Justin Bieber performing in Finland.

US Senate backs Finland and Sweden's joining NATO

The Senate voted 95 to 1 to support the ratification of the two countries' accession documents.

AUGUST 4, 2022ByREUTERS
NATO and Russian flags are seen through broken glass this illustration taken April 13, 2022.

Finland seizes hundreds of Russian freight cars as EU sanctions bite

Finnish bailiff authority said it has frozen assets of a few dozen Russian and Belarusian individuals and legal entities, including transportation firms

JULY 5, 2022ByREUTERS
Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin speaks during the plenary session at the Finnish parliament in Helsinki, Finland, May 16, 2022.

Can NATO reverse course after caving to Ankara’s demands? - analysis

Ankara now uses every opportunity to blackmail NATO, refusing requests or threatening other members, to get what it wants.

JUNE 29, 2022BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
TURKISH PRESIDENT Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of his ruling AK Party during a meeting at the parliament, last month.

Turkey drops objection to Finland, Sweden joining NATO

"Our foreign ministers signed a trilateral memorandum which confirms that Turkey will ... support the invitation of Finland and Sweden to become members of NATO," Finnish President Niinisto said.

JUNE 28, 2022ByREUTERS
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberga, Finland's President Sauli Niinisto and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu react after signing a document during a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, June 28, 2022.

Erdogan will ensure Putin's fears of NATO expansion are unrealized - opinion

Turkey's Erdogan is blocking Finland and Sweden from joining NATO - something that Putin is glad of.

JUNE 27, 2022ByNEVILLE TELLER
FROM LEFT: Finland’s Ambassador to NATO Klaus Korhonen, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Sweden’s Ambassador to NATO Axel Wernhoff attend a ceremony to mark the applications for membership of Sweden and Finland, in Brussels, last month.

Turkey tells US it wants 'concrete steps' from Finland, Sweden for NATO bids

Turkey has objected to the two countries joining the Western defense alliance.

MAY 31, 2022ByREUTERS
NATO, Turkish, Swedish and Finnish flags are seen in this illustration taken May 18, 2022.

What will Putin’s next step be? - comment

The massive humanitarian crisis that is currently taking place in Ukraine rekindled the centrality, importance and forcefulness of NATO.

MAY 28, 2022ByANAT HOCHBERG-MAROM
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting of the State Council Presidium at the Kremlin, last week.

Finland, Sweden to send teams to Turkey to discuss NATO bids, Haavisto says

Turkey has expressed opposition to the two Scandinavian countries' inclusion into NATO based on allegations that they harbored people linked to a Kurdish militant group.

MAY 24, 2022ByREUTERS
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto signs a petition for NATO membership application in Helsinki, Finland May 17, 2022.

Erdogan discusses NATO concerns with Finland and Sweden

Turkey says Sweden and Finland harbor people linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group and followers of Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt.

MAY 21, 2022ByREUTERS
Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan holds a news conference during the NATO summit at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 14, 2021.